President Volodymyr Zelenskyi says Ukraine is doing everything it can to save its citizens from Mariupol. Evacuations from Mariupol and several other areas will continue on Tuesday.
We gathered the key news from last night and last night in connection with the war in Ukraine.
The first ones were evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant to Zaporizhia
The first civilians evacuated from Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant in Ukraine have reached the Ukrainian-held city of Zaporizhia on Monday after an overnight bus ride, according to Reuters.
More than a hundred civilians evacuated from the factory area have arrived safely in Zaporizhia, according to the Ukrainian military police. The magazine says the evacuees are mainly women, children and the elderly. They have received medical care, medication, food and mental support.
Zaporizhia is located more than 200 km northwest of Mariupol. According to Ukraine, there are still hundreds of civilians and wounded Ukrainian soldiers in the factory area. According to Ukrainian data, the heavily destroyed city of Mariupol still has a significant number of inhabitants in the midst of Russian siege and bombing.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky according to the evacuation operation continues.
“We will continue to do everything we can to save our people from Mariupol,” the president emphasized in his speech on Monday night.
He said humanitarian corridors are also set to open on Tuesday from Berdiansk, Tokmak and Vasylivka.
Zelenskyi noted that the situation is still extremely difficult in the direction of Kharkov, Donbass and the southern part of the country, told the Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform.
United States: Russia plans to annex Donetsk and Luhansk
Russia intends to annex the so-called People’s Republics of Luhansk and Donetsk in eastern Ukraine in the near future.
That’s what the US ambassador to the OSCE is saying Michael Carpenter. He bases his data on the latest U.S. intelligence.
– Our data show that Russia plans to hold referendums in the regions in mid-May, Carpenter said when meeting with reporters in Washington.
Russia: More than a million people evacuated from Ukraine to Russia
More than 11,500 people, including 1,847 children, were transported from Ukraine to Russia on Monday without the involvement of the Kiev authorities, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The figure includes evacuations from the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics backed by Russia, Reuters reports.
Russia says people have been evacuated at their own request. Ukraine, on the other hand, has said Moscow has forcibly deported thousands of people to Russia since the start of the war.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, a total of almost 200,000 children and 1.1 million people have been evacuated from Ukraine to Russia since 24 February.